Creating a full backup of Windows 10.

Backup Data management is an important function for every responsible computer user. There is nothing worse than realizing while sitting in front of your computer that you have just lost the result of your month's work or important files, which there is no way to restore.

Data very often comes at a high price. And it doesn't matter personal files or information that is used for work. Let's figure out what functions for data backup and recovery Microsoft developers have equipped the latest version of their operating system- Windows 10, and also consider the possibility of backing up data recovery using third party programs.

Data backup is an important function for every responsible computer user. There is nothing worse than realizing while sitting in front of your computer that you have just lost the result of a month’s work or important files that there is no way to recover.

Data very often comes at a high price. And it doesn’t matter whether these are personal files or information that is used for work. Let's figure out what functions for data backup and recovery Microsoft developers have equipped the latest version of their operating system - Windows 10, and also consider the possibility of backing up data recovery using third-party programs.

Data backup: What is it?

File backup

We sometimes hear about the need to “create backup copy computer." But it’s not entirely correct to say this, since there are two ways to backup data. The first is creating a backup copy of files, with which you can create copies of individual files and folders stored on a computer or any other storage medium. Every user who has important data stored on their computer should create a backup copy of it on an external hard drive, in case the original source is lost or deleted.

System backup

Another method of backing up data is known as System Backup or System Image. It's more the hard way data backup, since in this case we are talking about creating a copy of the entire operating system of a particular computer, along with programs, files and settings. A system backup is used to restore it if Windows becomes unstable or stops working altogether.

A Windows backup can take up hundreds of gigabytes of memory. But using special data backup software, you can configure the function to save only changes that have been made since the last system backup.

Backing up and restoring data from using Windows

Windows 10 has built-in tools that are designed to create backup copies of files and the system, as well as restore information using them. Many users do not use them, not knowing about their existence or how to configure them correctly. They are more likely to use third-party programs rather than tools built into the operating system.

File history

The most in a simple way creating a backup copy of files and folders, as well as restoring from them, is File History. Using this function, you can copy data regularly, according to a schedule set by the user, and save it to external hard disk or other external storage medium. You can also save copies of files to your computer's hard drive (although this goes against the basic rule of backup).

To set up File History, go to the Start menu and select Settings. In the Settings menu that opens, go to the Update and Security / Backup menu.

On the right side of the panel, in the File History Backup section, click Add Disk. You will be asked to select one of those connected to your computer external media information. Select the one to which you want to back up data and set the archiving parameters: the interval for saving copies of files and the duration of their storage, if necessary, you can specify specific folder a copy of files from which you need to create or remove unnecessary ones.

When creating a backup, File History also automatically copies all folders of the user account: Images, Documents, Downloads, etc.

This feature can be turned off at any time, but in order for user-specified data to be copied at a set time interval, Automatic file backup must be enabled.

By default, files are backed up every hour. Minimum time which can be set is 10 minutes, the maximum is Daily. You can also set the duration of storage of copies: from one month until not needed free space(in this case, older backups will be deleted automatically to free up space for new backups).

Restoring files from a backup

To restore files from a backup disk, go to Control Panel and select the File History menu.

In the left column of the window that opens, select Recover personal files, go to the folder and find the file that needs to be restored. To restore the file, click green button below and indicate the path to restore it. Versions of backup files based on the dates and times they were saved can be selected by pressing the right and left arrow buttons.

Cloud service OneDrive

Another way to protect yourself from losing important files is to transfer them to cloud storage and synchronize it with your computer. There are many such storages: Dropbox, Google Drive etc. But a feature of the latest versions of Windows (10, 8, 8.1) is the presence of its own cloud service built into the operating system. Microsoft service which is called OneDrive.

When using one of cloud services, they usually create a folder on the computer disk under their own name, from which they synchronize files. IN latest versions Windows folder OneDrive exists by default, i.e. the service is available to every user immediately after installing the operating system.

Any file. which will be saved in this folder will be immediately copied to the cloud storage and synchronized with it. The user can also access the files in this folder from any other device; to do this, just log into your OneDrive account from it.

Recovery Point

Another side of backup and recovery Windows data 10, there is recovery system files and operating system performance. Creating and restoring a backup copy of the operating system is a more complex process than with the user's personal files and folders. But for this purpose, Windows 10 provides a special function - System Restore. With its help, the user can return the operating system to functionality by “rolling back” to the saved early condition– Restore point.

By default, the recovery function in the operating system is not activated. In order to be able to use it, it must be configured. System Restore works by creating Restore Points that save Windows status at a certain point in time. Along with the settings and state of the operating system, the Recovery Point includes installed applications(For example, Microsoft Office) and device drivers (for example, video cards).

The user can create a recovery point at any convenient time. It is also created automatically if you install an application on your computer or download system updates, etc. But remember that System Restore does not restore the user's personal files.

If you begin to notice that the operating system is not working correctly or with glitches and errors, then you can run one of the previously saved restore points and Windows will return to the state at the time it was created.

To do this, go to the Control Panel and select the menu Recovery / Set up system recovery / Configure, with which you activate and configure the function.

To restore Windows from a restore point, go to Control Panel and select the menu Recovery / Run System Restore, select the required Restore Point and click Next.

System image

Probably the most basic and complex function reserve Windows copy There is a function called System Image.

Using this option, you can create a “duplicate” of the entire computer disk, including Windows 10, as well as all programs and personal data of the user. The system image is saved to an external hard drive, from which, if necessary or the computer fails, it is deployed back to the computer’s hard drive. As a result, the user receives a working version of the operating system, along with programs and files.

This is very useful feature, but its disadvantage is that the user does not have the ability to restore from a system image separate files, as from File History. You can only fully expand the entire image. Therefore, users often use these functions in parallel.

To create a System Image, go to Control Panel and select the File Backup and Restore menu. In the left column, click Create a system image, and select the drive to which you want to save it. Please note that the System Image is usually large in size.

To restore the system from a System Image, go to the System Settings / Update and Security / Recovery menu, and select special boot options. After Windows 10 reboots, select System image recovery from the menu provided.

Read how to use the built-in Windows tools and features, create and restore backups of files and folders, disk or system. Windows 10 comes with many different backup tools. In addition to the fact that Microsoft has brought back the old System Restore tool (Windows Backup), which was once removed from Windows 8.1, it also has a File History tool. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The latest version of Windows also has the ability to back up your system image (System Image Backup feature), return your computer to default settings, save files online, and create recovery discs that you can use in case of an emergency.

Content:

File history

File history, which was introduced in Windows 8, has not disappeared in Windows 10. This is still the recommended recovery method. That's why File History is integrated into both the new Settings app and old Panel management. While recovery and backup tools in Windows 7 are present only in the Control Panel. This feature is more limited and only backs up files in your user account's library. If you need to restore documents that were stored in other folders, you will need to create these folders in Explorer and add them to libraries or create new libraries.

Once this is done, Windows will be able to automatically back up your files. This feature can be used to recover all files that have ever been lost, recover a single file, or roll back a file to an older version.

System Backup and Restore

This tool will help you restore any Windows 7 backup to your Windows 10. But it can also be used to restore your Windows 10 computer. Unlike File History, Windows Backup makes it much easier to back up almost anything on your hard drive.

This tool can be found in the Control Panel under Recovery. However, backup does not provide 100% protection against data loss.

OneDrive

In the traditional sense, OneDrive is not a true recovery tool, but this moment it is fully integrated into Windows. Files saved to OneDrive will be saved to your OneDrive user account, and you can access these files from any of your other devices.

Even if you reinstall Windows or use Windows on another device, you simply need to sign in to your Microsoft account and all your files that were previously saved in OneDrive will be available to you.

Instead of relying on a System Image Backup, most people prefer to use the Reset PC feature to restore the system to factory settings. This also makes it possible to forget about such a phenomenon as reinstalling Windows using boot disk or USB devices- we just put it Windows task reset the computer and it returns to factory settings.

Windows 8 had two features: Refresh your PC and Reset your PC. In Windows 10, there is only the option Reset your computer to its original state.

Open the Settings application, select Update & Security, then select Recovery and click Start, under the Reset your computer section.

And in this case, the choice of action must be approached with full responsibility, because if you select the Delete everything function, then along with your programs and settings will also be deleted Accounts users and, most importantly, files.

Of course, this only applies to the drive on which Windows is installed (usually drive C). But on drive C there are files from the desktop, as well as folders Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Videos, Music, etc.

Recover files deleted this way standard means Windows won't work anymore. Although it is quite possible with the help specialized programs for data recovery.

One such program is Hetman Partition Recovery is universal tool, which is used by data recovery specialists. It analyzes the hard drive for file signatures and file system parts. Such pieces will be detected and added to the list of volumes available for recovery.

First and most important, turn off your computer and remove the disk. You don't need to run Windows on the same drive from which you want to recover files. This disk must be connected to another computer as an additional one and scanned using the program.

Microsoft has removed the system image backup feature in the initial Windows versions 8.1, but about numerous requests from users this function returned. It is also present in Windows 10.

It can be found in the Backup and Restore panel (Windows 7). Simply click “Create a system image” on the left side of the window, or open the File History panel and select “System Image”.

Unlike other solutions, this feature allows you to create a complete image of your current Windows systems, including operating system, installed programs, settings and user files. This backup can be saved to an external hard drive, multiple DVDs, or network resource. And if you ever need to restore your computer, you can do this by deploying the previously saved backup.

In reality, most people don't use this feature. You can also return the operating system to its original state using the Reset your computer and restore individual files function by manually reinstalling all programs. In this case, the backup copies will be much smaller in size and you can configure their regular automatic creation.

But such a function exists and is popular. And if you need to create a system image, then there is no need to use third-party applications.

Special options Windows boot 10 work in the same way as in Windows 8. To access them, open the Settings app, select Update & security, then Recovery, and in the Custom boot options submenu, click Restart now. You can also use this function by pressing “Reboot” and holding Shift keys, in the Start menu.

You can create a USB recovery drive that will give you access to special boot options even if your Windows 10 installation is completely corrupt and you don't have access to this menu.

To create one, open Control Panel and select Recovery. Click on the “Restore” icon and you will see a list of recovery tools.

To create a USB recovery drive, click “Create a recovery drive.” To access this instrument directly, you can open the Start menu, type RecoveryDrive.exe and press Enter.

No more in Windows 10 separate section recovery, hence this tool will no longer allow you to remove the recovery partition from your computer. It is no longer needed, we use it by default free space on disk.

Windows 10 includes other troubleshooting features that were provided in previous versions Windows. If your computer is unstable, you can use the system restore feature to return it to operational state. For those users who did not use the standard Windows capabilities will be useful

The backup function includes a bit by bit copy of the entire system. Windows backup includes full installation operating system, application settings, personal data, even desktop background. You can transfer all information from hard drive to another computer. Its main function is that you can restore the system after critical errors, hardware or software failure. The disadvantage is that you will not be able to recover individual files, but it is quite possible to extract some photographs or documents. Remember! Backups should be done periodically so that if Windows crashes, you don’t lose important files. For example, I had a problem when I was converting partition styles from MBR to GPT and in my case everything went wrong. I connected a flash drive with a Windows 10 backup and everything remained as it was.

How to Backup a Windows 10 Image

• Go to Control Panel and press system and safety.

• Select.

• Click bottom left.

• Left side.

• Choose where exactly you want to save your copy. It could be local disk, network computer, flash drive, CD.

• I do everything copy of hard disk, but you can only use a separate local disk on which the system is located. Then you can go about your business at the computer and wait for the process to complete. After finishing, you will also be asked to create one from which you can boot and run the process from the backup copy, but it is better to create it manually.

Restoring your computer from a Windows 10 backup

Connect the device on which a copy of your system is located, and restart the computer from the installation windows disk. Look, . During windows installations, press the button Further, then select Restore your computer, which is located in the lower left corner of the screen. Next click on Troubleshooting, click Extra options and select System Recovery Image (Restore system image). Select the system you want to restore, click Next and Finish.

A backup or system backup is an image of Windows 10 that contains a complete installation of the operating system with settings for applications, services, games and personal files. The System Image Backup tool was added in Windows 8.1. The disadvantage of a system backup is that it is impossible to restore a particular file separately.

Method number 1. Using the standard utility

You can back up a Windows 10 disk using the built-in Backup and Restore utility, which is located in the Control Panel.

Opening this element, in the left menu select “Create a system image”.

In the next window, you should select the storage location for your Windows 10 backup. For this purpose, you can use a flash drive, a separate SSD, or HDD drive, network folder. In the utility we put a checkmark “ HDD", select the media from the list and click "Next".

By default, drive C and the “System Reserved” partition will be added for archiving. You can also add drive D. Click “Archive”.

Once the backup is complete, a notification will appear asking you to make a backup or system recovery disc. Click “Yes”.

After a few minutes (from 20 minutes), system backup will be created. We disconnect the flash drive and use it as needed.

Method number 2. Creating a System Repair Disk Using DISM Utility

To create an OS Windows 10 recovery image using the built-in DISM.exe utility, do the following:

• Click right click mouse on the "Start" menu and select "Command Prompt (Admin)".

• IN command line enter in order:
• diskpart;
• list volume (remember the disk with Windows 10);
• exit;
• Dism /Capture-Image /ImageFile:D:\my-softikbox.wim /CaptureDir:C:\ /Name:"Windows"

my-softikbox.wim: - this is the name of the copy of the disk image with Windows 10 (you can set your parameters, just leave the .wim extension).

D:\ is the location where the image is saved.

C:\ - partition with installed partition with the operating system installed.

The image will be saved on drive D with the name my-softikbox.wim.

Method No. 3. Backing up a disk using LiveCD Aomei Backupper Standard

Do backup Windows 10 using this program is quite simple. You need to download it from the website and run it on your PC. Next we do the following:

• Select the “Backup” section and the “System Backup” option.

• Enter the name of the Windows 10 backup. You also need to specify the drive where you can save the image. Then click “Start copying”.

• The image creation process will begin.

How to restore Windows 10 using a system backup?

If you need to restore drive C after a critical error and you have previously made an image of Windows 10 through the “Backup and Restore” utility in the “Control Panel”, perform the following steps:

• Click “Start”, go to the “Shutdown” section, hold down the “Shift” button and click “Restart”. The computer will restart and the Advanced Options menu will appear. Select "System Image Restore".

• A new window will open. The system will start searching for the backup file. Therefore, the flash drive or disk must be connected to the PC. You can also manually specify the storage location for the disk image.

• At the next stage, the system will prompt you to select partitions to format.

• Next, system recovery from the image will begin.

If you created the image using the DISM.exe utility, Windows recovery 10 should be done as follows:

• Enter diskpart in the command line with administrator rights;
• list volume and remember the letter of drive C and the “Reserved by the system” partition;
• select volume 2, where 2 is the number system disk;
• format fs=ntfs quick – format command.

• select volume 1 – where 1 is the number of the “Reserved by the system” section;
• format fs=FS quick - where FS is the current one file system section;
• assign letter=Z (we assign the letter Z to the section, it will be needed later);
• exit;
• dism /apply-mage /imagefile:D:\my-softikbox.wim /index:1 /ApplyDir:E:\, where my-softikbox.wim is a system backup, D is its storage location and E is the partition where we restore , that is, drive C.
• bcdboot E:\Windows /s Z:, where E is the system drive with Windows 10, and Z is the “System Reserved” partition.
• Diskpart;
• select volume 1 – section “Reserved by the system”;
• remove letter=Z – to remove the letter of the reserved partition;

After rebooting the PC, Windows 10 will be restored from the image.

If you backed up Windows 10 using Aomei programs Backupper Standard, we perform recovery as follows:

• Launch the program and go to the “Restore” section. If the disk with the copy is connected to the PC or the copy was saved to disk D, then the program itself will find and set the correct path to the backup file. Otherwise, you will have to specify the path yourself.

• Click “Start Restore”.

You can also create a Windows 10 backup image using other programs.

To learn how to create a backup copy of Windows 10, watch the video:

Many PC users mistakenly overlook the importance of backups. Windows image, because They think that nothing bad will happen to their operating system and that it will work stably and reliably for a long time. But then rainy day X comes and the system, due to certain reasons (virus attack, etc.), stops responding to commands or does not boot at all.

No matter what you do, nothing helps and all that remains is to reinstall the OS, followed by the tedious process of searching, installing, and configuring previous programs. But everything could have been much simpler if there was a backup copy. It would take a matter of minutes to restore full functionality and all applications would be in place.

In this article we will look at simple instructions on how to make a backup copy of Windows 10 using a built-in, standard tool. A backup copy means a complete image of the system with all programs and settings installed at the time the copy was created. Those. after a potential failure and restoration of the system from the image, the user receives the state of the operating system at the time the copy was created.

How to create a backup of Windows 10 using a standard backup tool

To get to the function you are looking for, right-click on the “Start” menu, then follow the following path: Control Panel – System and Security – Backup and Restore. There is another alternative path: Start – Settings – Update and Security – Backup Service – Go to the “Backup and Restore” section.

In the new window, click on the “Create a system image” tab.

Then you should select the location where the system image will be stored. In my case selected external HDD disk.

In the next window we indicate which disks will be included in the archiving. System drive C will be backed up by default.

As you can see, the required space to save this archive is quite large and it will take some time to create the image.

Once the procedure is complete, you will be prompted to create a system repair disc.

If not free disk at hand, then from this proposal should be refused.

How to run Windows 10 recovery

You can restore the system from a backup image in several ways: from the recovery environment of the working operating system and using boot device(if the system does not boot).

If you have problems with Windows 10, but this does not affect its ability to boot, you can enter the recovery environment through the Settings application. You should follow the following path: Start – Settings – Update and Security – Recovery. In the “Special boot options” section, click on “Restart now”.

If Windows 10 does not boot, then you can get into the recovery environment from installation media, for example with bootable flash drive . After opening the recovery partition, look for the window with additional parameters, and then we restore the system using the image.